With its only natural enemy, the dingo, delegated to the ground, the koala is basically safe from threat. Naturally, the koala has a darling expression, but its big head contains one of the smaller brains percentage wise in the animal kingdom, and a rather primitive one at that.
They are not social at all, marking out clear territories, and actively avoiding each other throughout most of their lives, other than for very brief mating encounters. The koala bear has a broad face with forward facing eyes, a large head with round tufted ears and an egg-shaped tailless body covered with plush grey to brown fur that is whiter on the undersides and often mottled over the rump. Very much like the South American sloths in lifestyle, the koala bear has an extremely slow metabolism and takes days to digest a meal. Moving from one to another of the trees that it has designated as its territory is the most energy a koala will commit in any 24 hour period. A healthy adult koala spends about 18 hours a day sleeping - mostly in the heat of the afternoon - and no more than 5 minutes a day in full-bodied exertion. The nutritional value of this diet is so poor that the koala is designed to conserve as much energy as possible. In the course of a single evening, a 30 pound koala consumes about 2 pounds of leaves. Koalas give birth in the middle of the summer, which means December or January on the Australian continent.These animals are nocturnal and spend four to six hours a night quietly munching on Eucalyptus leaves. The estrous cycle of the female Koala extends for roughly 27-30 days and the gestation period consists of 25-35 days. The female Koalas are seasonally polyestrous and typically produce offspring once a year. The ears are fringed with elongated white hairs.īoth male and female Koalas become sexually mature when they are around two years old, but the males are typically forced to refrain from mating until they grow older and bigger since the must be able to successfully compete with other males. There are also distinct white parts on the chin, chest and inner side of the Koala's forelimbs. The main body is grey, brown or brownish-grey on top and white patches on the rump are common in southern as well as northern Koalas. In the northern Koalas, the coat tends to be a little shorter and lighter. The Koala fur is dense and woolly and coloration varies depending on geographical location. The second and third digit of the hind feet are small. If you look at the first digit of the hind foot, you can see how it is short and much broadened. The Koala can grip branches and is a skilled climber tanks to its forepaws where the first and second digits oppose the rest. Both fore and hind feet feature five strongly clawed digits. The female Koala has two mammae and is equipped with a characteristic pouch that opens to the rear of the animal. His ears are also smaller and he has a big chest gland. In addition to being larger and heavier, the male Koala has a broader face than the female Koala. Koala bear facts # 4 – Other physical characteristics The other Koalas average at 6.5 kilograms and 5.1 kilograms respectively.
The average weight for the southern living Koala is 11.8 for males and 7.9 for females. Females from this region stay around 72 centimetres. The southern living Koalas tend to be bigger than the other Koalas, and southern males average at 78 centimetres in length. The male Koala is larger than the female Koala, and the animals’ size is also affected by geographical location. The koalas depend on Eucalyptus for food and shelter, and can only be found in Eucalyptus forests located below 600 metres. The koala bear is an arboreal animal, which means that it spends most of it life in the trees. Today, they have also been introduced to Western Australia and nearby islands. Koala bears are native to the Australian continent where they traditionally inhabit a region that stretches from northern Queensland to south-western Victoria. Koala bear facts # 2 – Geographic range and habitat It belongs to the order Diprotodontia where you can find kangaroos, possums, wallabies and other similar mammals. It is the only known living member of the genus Phascolarctos and family Phascolarctidae. The scientific name for this species is Phascolarctos cinereus. Koala bear fact # 1 – Scientific classification
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